Call this number and tell the woman I must see her chest without delay.

That’s the sort of unusual note Mike finds on his desk in the morning. And let me tell you, what a chest it turned out to be! Central or Northern Spanish, 17th century, and massive.

I was looking through cheap furniture advertised online for something to store blankets/duvets in during the summer months. So when I saw this I was stunned. The construction is sublime. The moulding at the bottom is carved from a single piece of wood rather than layered and glued together. The corners are a very early take on dovetailing and the iron metalwork is all original (laid on red felt). It’s suffered badly from wood worm, and I’ve just spent the past week making sure there was none left. This has, of course, led to a whole rearrangement of furniture in the hallway upstairs. Fortunately the chest looks excellent with my old Dutch chairs.

Also, the linen curtains for the stairs are ready! All the way to the floor, they look fantastic.

So here’s what it looks like now

If you like this sort of thing, the best dealer for this style of furniture is Z. Sierra in Madrid. At the moment they have a handful of excellent chests (arca in Spanish). Expect to pay +-5 thousand for a good specimen.

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40 comments on “Call this number and tell the woman I must see her chest without delay.”

Gorgeous! Of course, your post came with an ad inserted … including a photo of a perky young woman, whose chest is just out of sight … Sometimes accidental humor is far better than what is planned.

Your house (house doesn’t seem the appropriate word any more) is becoming even more beautiful than the raw bones of the place you showed us in the beginning presaged. Your taste is impeccable and your decorating budget must be huge!

Thank you. We love it. It’s seriously battered which adds to the charm. In the 16th and 17th century Spanish households the chest had a super important role. It’s where all the important family things were kept. The lady of the house usually carrying the key with her at all times.

France and Spain are wood worm havens. And getting rid of them isn’t always easy. But you’re absolutely right, putting things outside in freezing temps is the most straightforward way of dealing with the problem.

Love, love, love that chest…and the clickbait title. :p
Seriously, it’s gorgeous and I really like the way those curtain are scaled in length to draw the eye up. No. 42 is looking so beautiful. Bravo. 🙂

Meh…fashion smashion. Wood is timeless. Besides, every piece of beautiful furniture you place in No. 42 gives new life to the work of some forgotten artisan. I know it’s fanciful, but isn’t that a kind of immortality?

I also have chest envy. It’s a beautiful piece, and as usual you have arranged items with perfect symmetry. Your home always looks very calm too. (feeling envious of the calm as we are currently trying to entertain 2 Grandchildren, 16 months, & 8 years, & our normally tidy house is in chaos).

We have one which we bought in France with a damaged top…trying to find someone who could repair it properly was a nightmare until our Turkish builder suggested a retired artisan whom he had met while working with Batiments de France. The chap recognised the style and period of the chest which gave me confidence and did a super job of repair and refurbishment. …and, yes, it had woodworm…
Yours looks so majestic where you have placed it, valued once again as an important piece.
Quite agree about the use of linen when you have pets…it washes up brilliantly, time and time again.

We were going to get a proper restorer to do it, but then we decided it was simple enough that we could it ourselves, and it’s come out perfectly usable.
Having discovered how hard wearing linen was changed our lives. Before that most of our furniture was dark leather or woven tapestry, which is a heavy look to spend one’s entire life with.

I could not do the repair…so needed someone competent. Experience of the local bodgers’ ideas on how to restore a linenfold entrance door was enough to persuade me not to let them loose on the chest.
I came to linen via a market stall which was selling bolts of pure cream coloured linen, heavy enough to hang properly, for 1 euro a metre. Bought all they had, primarily for the price, then discovered how good it looked…and how hardwearing too!

I spent the weekend finishing painting the trim in my new office (converted oldest’s BR), my my my how small changes make such a difference! Happy as a clam. No chest involved—We use down comforters year round 😉

In the warmest nights of summer, lows in the 70s. But then we run the air and I get cold 😉.

Mr. College loves the new Office and Guest bedroom: “They’re clean and organized Mom!” I am commissioning an encaustic piece in the BR and having a new quilt made and then it will be really be Pink-worthy beautiful!!

Esme would never boot you! From what I understand she has a long standing affair with the double entendre. They meet on a regular basis.
And yes, the chest is really something. It’s got huge presence as do all the best chests! 😀

I am seriously getting an addiction to ancient furniture. The brocante in town almost rolls the trolley out ready when we arrive. Your chest looks great there. I love symmetry and good to see long curtains. You can’t skimp on curtains. Worth an overdraft or skipping food for three days to get the volume of fabric!